The Edmonton Oilers filled the last NHL coaching vacancy with former assistant Ralph Krueger, who is charged with molding a talented group of players into winners.

Krueger spent the last two seasons under Tom Renney, whose contract was not renewed after the Oilers finished 29th in the NHL last season with a 32-40-10 record, largely because of a dearth of decent defensemen and mid-range players. It's up to GM Steve Tambellini to address that, and he'll have his latest chance when free agency opens Sunday. Regardless, Kreuger knows that his tenure will ultimately be defined by the development of young forwards like No. 1 overall picks Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov and All-Star Jordan Eberle.

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"Our natural ability will lead us to winning," Krueger, 52, told reporters on Wednesday, according to the Oilers' website. "The winning is a byproduct, not a focus. The focus will be excellence; it will be our execution, our practices. You won't come to a practice where you see us, in any way shape or form, compromising our quality. Every practice, on or off the ice, will be at the highest possible level and winning will naturally be a byproduct of the time we put it in."

Krueger, an accomplished motivational speaker, also indirectly addressed concerns that he won't be able to deliver tough love.

"I'm about creating processes that are positive," Krueger said. "Anybody who's worked with me knows that. But that doesn't mean happy-go-lucky, hugging kind of positives. It means solutions are what we're going to be all about and working toward those. It's not about me, it's about the group. I’ll pull out a whip if I need to communicate quickly with the players.

"Tough empathy is what I'm really about as a leader."

Tambellini stressed Krueger's work as a head coach in Europe and with the Swiss national team.

"You speak with people that have worked with Ralph and players that have been coached by him, they talk about leadership, clarity and motivation," Tambellini said. "He’s a person that they want to play for. He has a reputation that people will play for him and want to win for him."

Throughout the search, Tambellini noted the need to find a coach who could take the Oilers, one of the worst teams in the NHL for several seasons, through the next phase of their rebuild. Krueger's hiring also represents the biggest decision Tambellini has had as GM—if Krueger is fired, Tambellini is likely gone as well, especially considering the recent hiring of Craig MacTavish in an important front-office role.